Self Financial, a fintech company that enables underserved consumers to build credit and savings, announced Thursday that it had raised $50 million in Series E financing.
The funding round was led by Altos Ventures with participation from Meritech Capital and Conductive Ventures.
Self has so far raised $127 million in total outside funding, including a $40 million Series D funding round in December 2020 and a $20 million Series C round in February 2020.
Self has more than doubled its headcount this year. The company hired 120 of its 200 employees this year, including remote hires from 17 states. The company plans to bring on another 50 to 100 new employees over the next year.
Self said the latest injection of capital will be used to scale the business, furthering the company’s mission to help more than 100 million Americans with no credit or low credit scores.
Self helps customers build credit and savings through its flagship Credit Builder Account, which does not require a hard credit inquiry or prior credit history.
Through the Credit Builder Account, Self lends customers money and holds that money in a certificate of deposit account for a year while the customer pays off the loan at a monthly rate that fits their budget. When the loan is fully paid off, the money in the CD goes to the borrower and those monthly payments are added to the person’s credit history.
Self also offers the Self Visa Credit Card, which gives customers the ability to extend their credit-building journey without a hard credit check.
“We deeply support Self’s mission of helping underserved customers to build credit and savings, bringing them into the American financial mainstream,” Anthony Lee, managing director of Altos Ventures, said in a statement. “Since our original investment, Self has helped millions of people build credit and this latest round will enable them to scale their team and products to help millions more.”
Self has helped more than 2 million customers so far. The company continues to experience rapid growth, with its active customer base more than doubling in the past year. More than 40 percent of new customers join based on word-of-mouth referrals.
Beginning this month, people who hold an H-1B or L-1 work visa or student visa are able to open Credit Builder accounts, opening the door for more people to participate who are new to the U.S. credit system.
“We believe everyone should have the opportunity to improve their financial future. That belief shapes everything we do, so looking ahead, we will continue to invest in the business and improve on our products to offer industry-leading solutions that support consumers, particularly those who are new to credit or building their credit,” Self founder and CEO James Garvey said in a statement.
